Posts Tagged Family

Friday Feminist Fuck Yeah: queer family models

In this video, Shawnta Smith and Jas Cruz, who are are ex-wives or best friends depending on which one of them is doing the telling, talk about the home they’ve built together and what it means to them and their community. It’s wonderful. They have separate beds but their bookcase is merged. I mean, that’s just poetry.

The video is part of I’m From Driftwood, a project that brings together stories from LGBTQ folks around the world. This month, they’re spotlighting stories from the black LGBTQ community. Check ‘em out.

Transcript after the jump.

In this video, Shawnta Smith and Jas Cruz, who are are ex-wives or best friends depending on which one of them is doing the telling, talk about the home they’ve built together and what it means ...

The power of women’s friendships: Do people really still devalue it?

This weekend, it seemed all of my lady friends on Facebook were linking to this piece by Emily Rapp. It’s a lovingly-rendered tribute to the older mentors who’ve shaped her and the current friends who’ve saved her–and a beautiful articulation of the power of female friendship.

Recently I overheard a man say at a yoga class, “Yeah, well, you get two women together and it’s like bitch central.” I could have told him he only needed one, in fact, and that would be me, but it also made me realize how much people diminish and poo-poo the real power and strength of female friendship, especially between women, which is either supposed to descend into some kind of male lesbian love ...

This weekend, it seemed all of my lady friends on Facebook were linking to this piece by Emily Rapp. It’s a lovingly-rendered tribute to the older mentors who’ve shaped her and the current friends who’ve saved ...

Is marriage finally obsolete? Let’s hope so.

Cue the hand-wringing on this one:

Just over half of all adult Americans, 51 percent, are currently married, according to an analysis of U.S. census data by the Pew Research Center. The center predicts that, if current trends continue, the share of currently married adults will fall below half within a few years. In 1960, 72 percent of all adults 18 and older were married.

The analysis shows that, though the traditional marriage is giving way, other lifestyle forms – including cohabitation, single-person households and single parenthood – are growing. It found that the number of new marriages in the United States declined by 5 percent from 2009 to 2010.

It’s not just that folks aren’t getting married as much, it’s also ...

Cue the hand-wringing on this one:

Just over half of all adult Americans, 51 percent, are currently married, according to an analysis of U.S. census data by the Pew Research Center. The center predicts that, if current ...

Fight for equality by embracing the awkwardness this Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving approaching, GLAAD is encouraging LGBTQ folks to talk openly about their lives and partners at the family dinner table–even if that makes Aunt Betty feel a little awkward. And us straight people can do our part by talking about why we support LGBTQ equality.

A GLAAD study found that four out of five people who have become more supportive of LGBTQ rights in the last few years say that personally knowing someone was a primary reason. “Talking about our lives with our loved ones and family members is vital to advancing equality.”

Of course, not all LGBTQ folks have the privilege of being able to safely talk about their lives–or even spend the holiday with their families–but ...

With Thanksgiving approaching, GLAAD is encouraging LGBTQ folks to talk openly about their lives and partners at the family dinner table–even if that makes Aunt Betty feel a little awkward. And us straight people ...

Familiy ties: immigration, deportation and child welfare

Many of you might be aware that the recent rates of detention and deportation have been alarmingly high. Many immigrant families are being broken apart. A new report from the Applied Research Center gets into an important question: What happens to the children of parents who are detained or deported? What happens to these families? And most importantly, what’s going on in our name?

A little context, from the report:

In fiscal year 2011, the United States deported a record-breaking 397,000 people and detained nearly that many. According to federal data released to ARC through a Freedom of Information Act request, a growing number and proportion of deportees are parents.

Right now, there are at least 5,100 children currently living in foster ...

Many of you might be aware that the recent rates of detention and deportation have been alarmingly high. Many immigrant families are being broken apart. A new report from the Applied Research Center gets into an ...

Familiy ties: immigration, deportation and child welfare

Many of you might be aware that the recent rates of detention and deportation have been alarmingly high. Many immigrant families are being broken apart. A new report from the Applied Research Center gets into an important question: What happens to the children of parents who are detained or deported? What happens to these families? And most importantly, what’s going on in our name?

A little context, from the report:

In fiscal year 2011, the United States deported a record-breaking 397,000 people and detained nearly that many. According to federal data released to ARC through a Freedom of Information Act request, a growing number and proportion of deportees are parents.

Right now, there are at least 5,100 children currently living in foster ...

Many of you might be aware that the recent rates of detention and deportation have been alarmingly high. Many immigrant families are being broken apart. A new report from the Applied Research Center gets into an ...

Michael Irvin poses shirtless for equality in Out Magazine

Michael Irvin, the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, has posed for the cover of Out Magazine to show his support for equality. In the feature interview, he addresses equality, women, football, masculinity, and religion.

Aside from his football skills (he is in the Hall of Fame and, along with Emmit Smith and Troy Aikman, comprised the all-star group known as the “triplets”), Irvin has previously been known for his flamboyant fashion (he famously showed up to his arraignment on drug charges in a long fur coat), drug use, womanizing, and trouble with the law, including accusations of violence and sexual assault — some of which are still pending in various stages.

So I was surprised to see him featured on ...

Michael Irvin, the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver, has posed for the cover of Out Magazine to show his support for equality. In the feature interview, he addresses equality, women, football, masculinity, and religion.

Aside from ...

Report back from the Annual Conference of the Council on Contemporary Families

A guest post from Stephanie Coontz, a renowned author of many books, most recently A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s and teacher of family studies at The Evergreen State College. You can read our Feministing Five with her and Courtney’s review of her new book.

I just returned from the annual conference of the Council on Contemporary Families, a group that is a terrific resource for the latest research on gender, sexuality, family trends, and race, ethnic, and class diversity.

“Tipping Point? What Minority Families Become the Majority” was the theme of the April 8-9 Conference at the University of Illinois Chicago. Highlights included an evaluation of the interpersonal implications of ...

A guest post from Stephanie Coontz, a renowned author of many books, most recently A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s and teacher of family studies at The Evergreen State ...

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